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Queensland boosts LNG agreements

PERTH (miningweekly.com) - The Queensland government on Wednesday reported that its ability to supply the state’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) products to South East Asia had been given a major boost with a landmark deal signed with a major Vietnamese gas company.

Speaking at the Queensland International Gas Symposium, being held in Brisbane, Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for State Development and Trade Andrew Fraser said that the new agreement with PetroVietnam Gas Corporation was a show of faith in Queensland's LNG export industry.

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“This agreement confirms Queensland's capacity to provide a reliable and secure source of LNG to the Asia Pacific region for decades to come," Fraser said.

He noted that as Vietnam's industrialisation continues to gather pace, so too will Queensland's opportunities for trade with the region.

"PetroVietnam is a dominant gas entity, and this agreement will help Queensland LNG companies gain better access to the growing Vietnamese market. Queensland already enjoys a strong trading relationship with Vietnam, with merchandise exports to the region totalling, in preliminary terms, more than A$216-million in 2010/11.”

“As we move into an increasingly carbon-constrained economy, Asia Pacific nations will increasingly look to Queensland as a supplier of greener energy sources, such as LNG.”

Fraser noted that the agreement, facilitated by Trade and Investment Queensland, would pave the way for Queensland to supply LNG to Vietnam to help meet the region's growing energy demands.

Meanwhile, the Queensland government also signed an agreement with Japan's largest public financial institution, in a deal aimed at working together in energy and resource development.

Fraser said that the deal with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation would strengthen Queensland's ties with Japan and open new doors to partner on resource projects.

“The Queensland and Japanese governments have long enjoyed a close working relationship, and this agreement is the natural extension of that collaboration. It formalises our mutually beneficial interests, particularly around developing the world-first LNG export industry here in Queensland.”

Fraser said that despite natural disasters significantly impacting both Japan and Queensland this year, Japan remained the state’s number one trading partner.

In preliminary terms, in 2010/11 Queensland merchandise exports to Japan totalled more than A$11.1-billion or 23% of total Queensland exports.

“As a modern trading economy, cross-border agreements of this kind are imperative to building further resilience and diversifying our economy. This is ringing endorsement from the Japanese government in our world-first LNG export industry and broader natural resource wealth.”